“This column is not a book review. I will leave to the professional book reviewers. This is my personal observations after reading Brent Schlender and Rick Tetzili’s book about Steve Jobs [Becoming Steve Jobs],” Tim Bajarin writes for Tech.pinions. “It comes from a prism of following Apple since 1981 and includes some of my own dealings with Jobs during that time.”
“I met one of the authors of this book, Brent Schlender, only a few days after he got a job at the Wall Street Journal and was assigned to cover Apple,” Bajarin writes. “As the book points out, Brent had a unique relationship with Steve Jobs and was one of only a few journalists Steve had a personal relationship with. He was even introduced by Steve as his friend at an event and would often go to Steve’s house and talk to him there and interact with his family. This book chronicles the life of Steve Jobs from Schlender’s unique viewpoint and it gives what I think is a solid view of the good and bad of Steve’s life while humanizing him in ways that only friends could see given his tendency to keep everyone else out of his life.”
“Although some reviewers have called the book sympathetic to Jobs, I felt that it was a very honest portrayal about Jobs the enfant terrible and Jobs the charmer and visionary,” Bajarin writes. “For me it was informational, entertaining and, in my opinion, the most accurate portrayal of Steve Jobs written to date. Anyone interested in Steve Jobs should find it gives an important perspective on his life and how he made Apple the powerhouse tech company it is today.”
Much more in the full article – recommended – here.
MacDailyNews Take: If you’ve already read or are currently reading Becoming Steve Jobs, what did/do you think?
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The evolution of Steve Jobs: It’s time to revisit — and correct — the myth – March 20, 2015
Apple CEO Cook blasts Isaacson’s ‘Steve Jobs’ bio as a ‘just a rehash; a tremendous disservice’ – March 17, 2015
Steve Jobs: ‘I just don’t like television. Apple will never make a TV again’ – March 13, 2015
Tim Cook reportedly offered Steve Jobs his liver, but Jobs refused – March 12, 2015
Gruber: ‘Becoming Steve Jobs’ is a remarkable new book – March 3, 2015
Feels like visiting home.
Re- visiting…
Alone the prologue was a hundred times better written than Issacson’s book!
I can’t say anything about Isaacson’s book, because, after reading comments about it from the Apple community, I didn’t want to waste my time and money on it.
But, I concur the prologue to “Becoming Steve Jobs” is great writing.
Steve Jobs is a collection of all these books. His friends will know the good SJ, his enemies will know the bad SJ. No one book will capture the entire lifespan of an individual. I’m sure there are people that identify with the a-hole, completely. And they’re not wrong. Just as the people that know the softer side of the man are not wrong. We often consider Jobs a most brilliant man. And on many things he was insanely brilliant. But the truth is, when he needed to make the most important decision of his life, he failed, and it cost him his life. Nuff said.
Agreed, the first 10-15 pages alone were like a glass of cold water in hell. It reads more like a great movie/story than the cold/lifeless Isaacson Bio.
Started reading it last night. Beautifully written.
You don’t rise to the top of an industry by being meek, indecisive & wasting time. Steve Jobs knew that.
That can irritate employees & other companies who want to ‘be friends or gain an edge.’
Steve did what he had to do to get things done quickly for long term goals. I admire his persistance.
No, Steve Jobs is not a “collection of all these books”, there are good biographies and there are bad biographies. Isaacson attempted to be neutrally accurate by assembling a collection of facts about Jobs life, but he utterly failed at capturing the soul of the man, of helping us better understand what made him tick. Schlender does this splendidly through a richly written narrative that makes Jobs come alive, that brings out the person that I grew up with and came to know through his very public life.